Child Research Net (CRN) is a non-profit, Internet-based child research institute. We have designed CRN's English site to bring together people concerned about children and to offer a forum for innovative interdisciplinary discussion. Our vast network of professionals, researchers and educators around the world will bring you articles, reliable data and the latest research in English, mainly on Japanese children and youth that are not otherwise available.

The importance of outdoor activities for the sound growth of children are equally advocated around the world. For instance, in Japan, the Ministry of Environment conducts "Junior Park Ranger Programs (only available in Japanese)" in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The program is designed to teach the importance of natural preservation, appreciation of nature, and nurturing human nature, to children from elementary to secondary school through nature patrols, cleaning and repairing trails, vegetation protection, nature walks and wildlife research under the guidance of park rangers.

Here, we would like to share an article written by Dr. Milton Chen and Mr. Jonathan B. Jarvis from the U.S. National Park Service introducing the situation in the USA.

As schools begin a new academic year, a hidden key to unlocking student success lies beyond the school building. The long-standing achievement gap is also an experience gap. In U.S. cities such as San Francisco or Washington, there are high school students who live near the Pacific Ocean or the Potomac River, respectively, but have never seen their waters. Many students have never grown a flower or a vegetable. Though the current generation faces dramatic threats to the environment and should learn about the natural world's current plight, many students' experiences of nature are limited.

Recent studies* show that U.S. children spend, on average, less than a half-hour outdoors every day, but more than 7½ hours indoors with technology, according to the National Wildlife Federation. As one Oakland, Calif., teacher described her middle school students' lives outside the classroom: "These boys carry guns, but they're afraid of bugs."

As the National Park Service celebrates its centennial this month, its staff is joining with schools, universities, museums, libraries, and other youth-serving nonprofits to close this nature-experience gap. To that end, President Barack Obama launched Every Kid in a Park last year. It's an initiative that gives every 4th grader and his or her family a free pass to visit national parks and public lands each year. Teachers can also take their 4th grade classes. This initiative allows parents and educators more opportunities to expose their students at an early age to the parks' resources.

In more than 400 national parks across the nation--from the iconic Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, and Yosemite, to the Nez Perce sites spanning four states, to the historic homes of César Chávez and Frederick Douglass--students are getting authentic experiences in restoring habitats; documenting flora, fauna, and artifacts; and gaining insight into national triumphs and struggles. In these places, abstract ideas--from biodiversity to cultural diversity--come alive. Students come alive, too, through experiential learning. Preserving our nation's landscapes and historic sites, not for a wealthy aristocracy but for all members of society, is important for education.

Recent research, including findings from neuroscience, supports the engagement of students' bodies, as well as their minds, for deeper learning. In his 2013 book Education and the Environment, author and educator Gerald A. Lieberman, who studies the connection between natural surroundings and school improvement, reviewed research connecting place-based experiential learning with improved academic achievement, classroom behavior, and preparation for college and careers. This learning can also energize teachers and build deeper relationships between schools and communities.

Students who visit the parks can experience collaborative learning and gain context for the history they study in the classroom. When students work in teams to measure water quality in the New York Harbor or support each other while biking 1,800 miles of the Underground Railroad, they are exercising their social and emotional muscles and preparing to become valuable team members in the workplace. When students stand where soldiers fell on the Gettysburg battlefield or Pearl Harbor's USS Arizona Memorial, the phrase "hallowed ground" takes on new meaning.

Teachers can also learn alongside their students. Through the national parks' Teacher-Ranger-Teacher program, educators work with park rangers over the summer to develop lessons to bring back to their students.

The park service's core goals include a new push to reach diverse student populations with a focus on the next generation through the Find Your Park/Encuentra Tu Parque initiative. New urban parks are being developed to attract more diverse youths and families of color with interpretive programs and signs with translations in multiple languages. These sites all reflect a commitment to tell a more complete story of our nation.

For those students who can't get to the parks in person, the service also uses an increasing array of online learning technologies. The National Park Service website is full of lesson plans, including videoconferences with park rangers. Google Expeditions, a free application that teachers can use for virtual-reality field trips, is partnering with a new app startup called WildEyes to release virtual footage of national parks around the country.

And this year, events known as BioBlitzes, which allow people to identify as many species as possible in one place in a short period of time, are expanding to more than 200 national, state, and city parks through a partnership with the National Geographic Society. Amateur scientists of all ages will have the opportunity to become part of a larger scientific community as they identify flora and fauna for species inventory. Students might discover species previously unfound--an unforgettable experience that can lead to a lifelong love of science.

But these online and virtual experiences supplement, rather than supplant, actual park visits. For this reason, through the Ticket to Ride Program, the National Park Foundation provides transportation funding for class trips. When children are transported to real parks, they can engage in new types of learning. They learn curricula, but also learn about themselves.

As we celebrate the centennial of our national parks, leaders in education need to remember the important role of outdoor classrooms in connecting school lessons to real life. In this age of technology, schools should not forget that Mother Nature is still our most marvelous teacher.

* National surveys targeting the age groups of 8-18 and 6-12.

CRN would like to thank Dr. Chen for permitting the reproduction of "National Parks at 100: Outdoor Classrooms for Experiential Learning", an article on Education Week website, which was originally published on 25/Aug/2016.

Profile

Dr. Milton Chen is senior fellow and executive director, emeritus at The George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF), a non-profit operating foundation in the San Francisco Bay Area producing the award-winning Edutopia.org website on innovative K-12 learning. He served as executive director of GLEF from 1998 to 2010. Dr. Chen has been the founding director of the KQED Center for Education (PBS) in San Francisco; director of research at Sesame Workshop in New York, helping develop Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and 3-2-1 Contact; and an assistant professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. During 2007-08, he was one of 35 Fulbright New Century Scholars.
Dr. Chen serves as chairman of the Panasonic Foundation in New Jersey, and is a member of the board of directors for Sesame Workshop and the California Emerging Technology Fund. He is also a member of the National Park System Advisory Board, appointed by Interior Secretary Jewell to advance the agency’s work in STEM and humanities education.
Dr. Chen’s career has been honored by the NHK President's Award in 2015 for contributions to educational media and the Fred Rogers Award from the U.S.Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Perhaps most importantly, on his 50th birthday, Dr. Chen was named a Jedi Master by George Lucas!

Mr. Jonathan B. Jarvis is the 18th Director of the National Park Service. He began his career with the National Park Service in 1976 as a seasonal interpreter in Washington, D.C. Today, he manages that agency whose mission is to preserve America's most treasured landscapes and cultural icons. Jarvis's 39-year career has taken him from ranger to resource management specialist to park biologist to superintendent of parks such as Craters of the Moon, North Cascades, Wrangell-St. Elias, and Mount Rainier. Before being confirmed as the 18th Director of the National Park Service on September 24, 2009, Jarvis served as regional director of the bureau's Pacific West Region. Jarvis has also reinvigorated the National Park Service's role as an international advocate for protected areas and recognized world leader in cultural and natural resource management.
As the agency celebrates its centennial in 2016, Jarvis has focused on several key areas that are critical for the future: enhancing stewardship of the places entrusted to the Service's care; maximizing the educational potential of parks and programs; engaging new generations and audiences, and ensuring the welfare and fulfillment of National Park Service employees.